Daniel's Forum Replies

This morning's track is Black Sabbath's classic "Symptom of the Universe" which I'd suggest is one of the great heavy metal numbers of all time:

I remember a discussion about the inclusion of deathgrind and filing it under grindcore, and was hoping we could add it since it's a tag I've seen passed around multiple music / metal websites like Metallum, Last.fm, Metalstorm and even in common forum usage on RYM.

The discussion around deathgrind was about whether we could remove it as it serves no real purpose given that you can already add a release to both death metal & grindcore but can only have deathgrind as a subgenre of one genre which annoys me. We're still looking at that & may well go that way in the future. I'm certainly pushing for it.

Since we already have a couple of our own genres that aren't included in RYM's database:  medieval folk metal and symphonic death metal, and this genre fits only Guardians genres, we could potentially file it as a subgenre of power metal until further notice?

For the record, RYM does have medieval folk metal. It's just had its name changed to "Mittelalter-Metal" i.e. medieval metal. The symphonic death metal subgenre was specifically added here to remove bands like Septicflesh & Fleshgod Apocalypse from The Guardians clan where they clearly had no right to be. The Symphonic Metal genre was always intended to cover a sound that featured predominantly clean vocals & melodic instrumentation but we had people adding death metal tracks to The Guardians playlists or selecting death metal releases as feature releases so we chose to clear things up for everyone. The symphonic black metal subgenre was already in place from the beginning of the site.

One thing I forgot to mention is that we have symphonic black metal and symphonic death metal. I think it would feel right if that subgenre were also included in the more appropriate clan.

See, those subgenres are actually required for the reasons listed above & are serving their purpose well. When we look for justification for adding new subgenres we always ask ourselves three questions:

1. Is the sound easily identifiable & distinct from the main genre? Epic doom metal & traditional doom metal are examples of potential subgenres that we've elected not to go with thus far because they're really not all that different from conventional doom metal & it's often quite difficult to identify which of the three a release should rightfully sit under with many releases having two or even three of those tags associated with them. We felt it was simpler to just lump them under the one tag.

2. Are there people that will hate/love the new subgenre but who feel the opposite about the main genre which gives us a reason to differentiate the two from each other in release searches & charts? We can see that requirement very clearly with the symphonic black metal subgenre for example as I generally struggle with any symphonic black metal release which wasn't created by an artist that rhymes with Schemperor but I absolutely adore conventional black metal.

3. Can we easily identify which release to add to the subgenre as opposed to the main genre?

In relation to question one, I was always under the impression that a symphonic component was quite common with (if not a defining characteristic of) European power metal & if you don't have a tolerance for that sort of thing then you're better off sticking to the US variety. In fact, the RYM definition of Power Metal says "Plenty of acts also employ synths and strings, often overlapping with Symphonic Metal" which is probably the reason that they haven't gone down the path of adding a Symphonic Power Metal subgenre i.e. because there's already an expectation of symphonics in your average power metal release.

In relation to question two, are there polarized power metal fans who only like the more overtly symphonic brand of power metal & have no time for the exponents that are more subtle with their use of symphonics? How about the reverse?

And finally, are you suggesting that we would simply add any release that has both a power metal & a symphonic metal primary on RYM to the symphonic power metal subgenre? Is that the way you'd suggest we identify appropriate releases? If so, will that cover all of the release you have in mind or are not all of them tagged that way given that there's an element of expectation around power metal releases containing symphonics?

Today's track is Black Sabbath's "Don't Start (Too Late)" which I'd suggest is progressive folk:

This morning's track is Black Sabbath's "Hole In The Sky" which is stoner metal in my opinion:

Today's track is the closer from Budgie's "In For The Kill" album "Living On Your Own" which I'd suggest is a progressive/hard rock number:

That leaves me with yet another Budgie record that's completely void of metal. It's really a hard rock record with progressive rock & blues rock influences in my opinion. Tomorrow we'll be moving on to Black Sabbath's classic "Sabotage" album to see if they can continue their complete monopoly of the early metal scene.

Wow! I've gotta say that the third full-length from these Finnish death metallers has well & truly blown me away which was perhaps somewhat inevitable given that it falls so clearly within my musical comfort zone. Gorephilia offer a dark & dank take on the classic 1990's death metal model with very little in the way of invention however they simply go about their craft so efficiently & effectively that I'm left feeling similar feelings to those that I first felt as an early teenager while discovering this great genre to begin with. The main influence is clearly classic Morbid Angel although (unlike Ben) I'd suggest that the era in question sits closer to "Blessed Are The Sick" & "Covenant" than it does to "Domination". Its actually pretty obvious a lot of the time too but the execution is nothing short of splendid which gives Gorephilia a strong sense of class & pedigree. Plus, there are a few more strings to Gorephilia's bow than that as they also possess a darker, murkier & slightly doomy Immolation/Incantation vibe that drags the atmosphere deeper into graveyard territory.

The guitar solos are perhaps the weak point as they lack a little finesse & often cross over into out-of-key territory but not in a way that feels intentional. It's more from a lack of understanding. The battering blast-beats, swampy yet powerful guitar tone & monstrous death growls more than make up for them though with the quality of the song-writing improving noticeably as the tracklisting progresses. "Devotion Upon the Worm", "Not for the Weak" & closer "Ark of the Undecipherable" are all devastating examples of modern death metal but the atmospheric interlude "Death Dream" is perhaps my favourite inclusion with its clean guitar arpeggios & eerie yet quite beautiful lead work providing a lovely change of scene before the final deathly assault. "In The Eye Of Nothing" is everything that a death metal band should aspire to be in my opinion & has been so successful in its undertaking that I'd even go so far as to sit it right alongside its more celebrated influences at the table of death metal's more elite performers.

4.5/5

This morning's track is Budgie's "Running From My Soul" which I'd suggest is blues rock.

It's been decades since I've heard "Point Blank" but I've got to admit that it's delivered exactly what I remembered it being capable of in that it's a decent listen but isn't one that commands much in the way of return listens, despite presenting some clear potential. The tracklisting kicks off in very strong fashion with the opening two songs being amongst the highlights of the album but the remainder of the run time is a little hit & miss to be honest, even though there's only the one track in the proper tracklisting that I consider to be a genuine failure in the flat industrial piece "Shit Pinata". There's a fair bit of variation on offer, despite Nailbomb being predominantly an industrial metal band. The thrash metal component isn't really enough for a primary tag & I'd suggest that there's much more crossover thrash than there is your more conventional thrash metal anyway. You'll also pick up some clear groove metal & sludge metal influences along with some smatterings of martial industrial & conventional industrial music along the way for a result that sounds very much like a combination of Sepultura's "Chaos AD" & Ministry's "Psalm 69" with smatterings of Fudge Tunnel's "Hate Songs in E Minor" tossed in for good measure. It's just that "Point Blank" never quite reaches the heights of those records which is the real shame. Don't get me wrong. It's by no means a bad record but it does struggle to command the attention it once seemed to receive with very little effort these days.

3.5/5

I still can't get on board with all the Hellripper hype. It's enjoyable enough and nothing more than that.

I agree with you that the Hellripper release isn't anything particularly special but, even though I'd place it slightly ahead of Hellripper, I'd say the same for the Demoniac record so it really wouldn’t appear to have been the strongest of years for The Pit from what I’ve seen.

The Fallen was a really tough decision because the Great Falls album was the clear winner if you took four or more ratings as the threshold but there were only three releases in that category which I didn't consider to be a large enough pool. FVNERALS only came into contention at a three-rating threshold & just edged Great Falls out which had twice as many ratings as FVNERALS & was very highly rated by a couple of our senior members (including myself) so it was a bit of a toss-up as to which way we'd go. In the end I could see that the three ratings for FVNERALS all came from our regulars so I decided that its result was reliable & went with that. The Great Falls release was my Release of 2023 so it was with mixed feelings in the end to tell you the truth.

Katatonia & Klone had the exact same scores for The Gateway but I awarded it to Katatonia given that it had several more ratings than Klone.

Cirith Ungol was a clear winner for The Guardians.

The Horde presented me with a major conundrum but I ended up electing not to award Neuropath the win for ethical reasons, despite it having the highest overall site rating average. The fact that "At Damnation's Core" is a compilation of old demo material also came into it. That left just three contenders when I used the five-rating threshold with Horrendous being the frontrunner but when using a four-rating threshold it would see Insomnium coming out on top which is a release that not a single member of The Horde has rated & that just didn't sit well with me. Horrendous was second there as well so elected to go with it as the overall winner.

When I had a look at The Infinite with a 5 rating threshold I found that there was only three releases with the King Gizzard album being the frontrunner. When dropping the threshold to four ratings it became very clear that Ne Obliviscaris was the site preference with very strong scoring indeed so I decided that it was the best option.

The North was a little difficult as when I chose a five-rating threshold there were four contenders which is kinda borderline with Hellripper being in the ascendency. Given that I'd already decided that Hellripper would win The Pit I thought it was worth looking at a four-rating threshold. Panopticon came into the running at that point &, given that I know it's the been pretty much the favourite release for several of our regulars for most of the year, I thought it best to stick with four ratings.

The Pit saw the Demoniac, Hellripper & Enforced records all coming out exactly equal on average ratings but I selected Hellripper based purely on the greater numbers of ratings it had received i.e. six over the four the other two had received.

The Revolution saw August Burns Red coming out in front on average clan ratings with the site ratings being a dead heat with the Will Haven album.

The Sphere was only very sparsely contested with the Godflesh & HEALTH releases finishing on equal site ratings but Godflesh winning due to its superior average clan rating.

Today's track is Budgie's "Hammer & Tongs" which I'm gonna suggest is a blues rock song:

Also, I investigated Buffalo's 1974 "Only Want You for Your Body" third album & found that it's predominantly a hard rock record with just the one metal track so we won't be including it here.

Here's my updated Top Ten Melodic Death Metal Releases of All Time list after being thoroughly impressed with Stortregn's excellent "Finitude" album which has seen Edge of Sanity's "Crimson being knocked out of my list altogether:

01. At The Gates – “Slaughter Of The Soul” (1995)

02. Stortregn - "Finitude" (2023)

03. Carcass – “Heartwork” (1993)

04. Dark Tranquillity – “The Gallery” (1995)

05. Merciless – “Unbound” (1994)

06. Sentenced – “North From Here” (1993)

07. In Mourning – “The Weight Of Oceans” (2012)

08. The Breathing Process - “Odyssey (un)Dead” (2010)

09. Amorphis - "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" (1994)

10. The Chasm - "The Spell Of Retribution" (2004)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/147

Stortregn - "Finitude" (2023)

The sixth full-length from this Swiss outfit is arguably their best & has had me thoroughly engaged over the last couple of days. Forget the tech death talk that's floating around the internet as that tag is not expansive enough to cover Stortregn's sound which sits right in the middle of the space between melodic death metal & progressive death metal with smatterings of Dissection style melodic black metal also entering the equation to go with the really effective raspy blackened vocals. The level of musicianship is wonderfully proficient, particularly the drumming with the ultra-fast blast-beats being astoundingly tight & powerful. I'm not usually a big melodeath fan but I have to make an exception with "Finitude" as it gets the balance of extremity & ambition just right. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I would place it behind only At The Gates' magnificent "Slaughter of the Soul" record for the melodeath subgenre as a whole which I'm aware is a very big call.

4/5

This morning's track is Budgie's "Zoom Club" which I've got down as hard rock:

Today's track is Budgie's "Wondering What Everyone Knows" which I'd suggest is progressive folk:

Here are the feature releases nomination recipients for March:

THE FALLEN: Ben, Morpheus, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Shezma, Morpheus

THE HORDE: Daniel, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy, Shezma

THE NORTH: Ben, Daniel, Shezma, Xephyr

THE PIT: Morpheus, Ben, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel

I've removed Rexorcist from the roster given that he's failed to submit his nominations for the last couple of months so I'm assuming that he's lost interest in taking part. We'll see if Morpheus Kitami submits this month given that he didn't submit on time this month & hasn't been spotted around the site much either.

February 2024

01. Dark Tranquillity – “Zodijackyl Light” (from “Enter Suicidal Angels” E.P., 1996)

02. Ablaze My Sorrow – “If Emotions Still Burn” (from “If Emotions Still Burn”, 1996)

03. Demilich – “The Echo (Replacement)” (from “Nespithe”, 1993) [Submitted by Sonny]

04. Nihilist – “When Life Has Ceased” (from “Drowned” demo, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. diSEMBOWELMENT – “Thou Messiah” (from “Mourning September” demo, 1990) [Submitted by Daniel]

06. Darkthrone – “Accumulation of Generalization” (from “Cromlech” demo, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Hellwitch – “Nosferatu” (from “Syzgial Miscreancy”, 1990) [Submitted by Daniel]

08. Gorguts – “Pleiades’ Dust” (from “Pleiades’ Dust” E.P., 2016)

09. Bolt Thrower – “Cenotaph” (from “War Master”, 1991) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Carnage – “Dark Recollections” (from “Dark Recollections”, 1990) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. Napalm Death – “If The Truth Be Known” (from “Harmony Corruption”, 1990) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Neuropath – “Copulation of Insanity” (from “Desert of Excruciation” demo, 1995) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. Repulsion – “Slaughter Of The Innocent” (from “Horrified”, 1989) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Morbid Angel – “Pain Divine” (from “Covenant”, 1993) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Vile – “Alive to Suffer” (from “Stench of the Deceased”, 1999)

16. Coffin Nail – “Trash Future” (from “Charnel Visions”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny]

17. Medic Vomiting Pus – “Thoracoabdominal Viscerectomy” (from “Thoracoabdominal Viscerectomy”, 2014)

18. Tomb Mold – “Flesh As Armour” (from “Enduring Spirit”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

19. Malignancy – “Bag” (from “Intrauterine Cannibalism”, 1999)

20. Fossilization – “The Night Spoke The Tongue Of Flames” (from “Leprous Daylight”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

21. Leng Tch’e – “Too Stupid To Live” (from “Man Made Predator”, 2003)

22. Year Of The Knife – “Last Laugh” (from “No Love Lost”, 2023) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

23. Nile – “Lashed To The Slave Stick” (from “Annihilation Of The Wicked”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

24. Acranius – “Unit 731” (from “Dishonor”, 2014)

25. Skeletal Remains – “Relentless Appetite” (from “Relentless Appetite”, 2024) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

Here's my March nomination Andi:

Dodheimsgard – “Ion Storm” (from “666 International”, 1999)

Herte's my March nomination Andi:

Great Falls – “Born As An Argument” (from “Objects Without Pain”, 2023) [I'm suggesting this is close enough to mathcore]

Here are my March nominations Vinny:

Testament – “Face In The Sky” (from “Souls of Black”, 1990)

Sacrifice – “A Storm In The Silence” (from “Soldiers of Misfortune”, 1990)

Sodom – “Bloodtrails” (from “Better Off Dead”, 1990)

Sacred Reich – “Love…Hate” (from “The American Way”, 1990)

Tyrant – “Into The Flames” (from “Too Late To Pray”, 1987)

Hellwitch – “Sentient Transmography” (from “Syzygial Miscreancy”, 1990)

Here are my March nominations Ben:

Sadistik Exekution – “Spirits Are Coming” (from “The Magus”, 1991) [It sounds much closer to black metal than death metal or thrash metal in my opinion]

Equilibrium – “Mana” (from “Sagas”, 2008)

Here are my March nominations:

Neuropath – “Nefarious Vivisection” (from “Nefarious Vivisection” demo, 1995)

Nihilist – “Morbid Devourment “ (from “The Head Not Found Session ‘89”, 1989)

Deicide – “Carnage In The Temple Of The Damned” (from “Deicide”, 1990)

Nocturnus – “Standing in Blood” (from “The Key”, 1990)

Grotesque – “Incantation” (from “Incantation” E.P., 1990)

Disbelief – “Assassinate The Scars” (from “Worst Enemy”, 2001)

Here's my March nomination Xephyr:

Suicidal Tendencies – “Go’n Breakdown” (from “Lights Camera Revolution”, 1990) [Yes, it's a heavy metal song]

Here's my March nomination Saxy:

Ugly Kid Joe – “Funky Fresh Country Club” (from “As Ugly As They Wanna Be” E.P., 1991)

Here are my March submissions Sonny:

diSEMBOWELMENT – “River of Salvation (My Divine Punishment)” (from “Deep Sensory Procession Into Aural Fate” demo, 1991) [Can be found on the “Dusk & Deep Sensory Procession Into Aural Fate” compilation]

Earth – “A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Part 2” (from “Extra-Capsular Extraction” E.P., 1991) [Can be found on the “A Bureaucratic Desire For Extra Capsular Extraction” compilation]

Fudge Tunnel – “Hate Song” (from “Hate Songs In E Minor”, 1991)

The Thron, Sulphur Aeon & Tilintetgjort ones are my favourites.

At the moment it would seem like the Neuropath CD is likely to come out on top in the race for The Horde Clan Release of 2023 & while I'm certainly flattered that it appears alongside the most popular releases from the clan over the past year I'm also not sure I feel comfortable with it. For starters, it's numbers have been boosted by me awarding it the full five stars which I'm not sure anyone would blame me for but it's a luxury not afforded to other releases & I wouldn't suggest is not an accurate reflection of the music itself. Secondly, "At Damnation's Core" is a remastered compilation of two demo tapes recorded in 1995 rather than a new release. Regardless of those two points, I'd suggest that it also might not be a very good look to have the moderator's CD winning the award when it's very unlikely to get a mention anywhere else. How does everyone feel about this & how would you propose we move forward? These are the options as I see them but feel free to propose your own:

1. We disqualify "At Damnation's Core" from being eligible for the award.

2. We qualify it but ignore my ratings.

3. We leave it as is & what will be will be.

Open thoughts guys? It's very much the same case in The Gallery too by the way as it's ahead there too.

I've always had time for "Seventh Star" & feel that it's been unfairly treated by people that were unable to think of it as the Tony Iommi solo album that it was always intended to be. In fact, I'd take it our records like "Never Say Die!", "Technical Ecstasy", "Forbidden" or "Tyr" these days.

3.5/5

Today's track is Budgie's "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" which is just a hard rock song in my opinion but seems to have been misguidedly elevated to metal status by the public due to the links to Metallica's hugely popular cover version.

And yet you apparently started the thread in order to do just that. ;)

My adjusted Top Ten Funeral Doom Metal Releases of All Time list after checking out the debut album from Sacramento duo Oromet today:

01. Esoteric - "The Maniacal Vale" (2008)

02. Esoteric – “Paragon of Dissonance” (2011)

03. Shape of Despair - "Monotony Fields" (2015)

04. Esoteric – “Metamorphogenesis” (1999)

05. Esoteric - "A Pyrrhic Existence" (2019)

06. Ahab - "The Call of The Wretched Sea" (2006)

07. Esoteric - "The Pernicious Enigma" (1997)

08. Evoken – “Atra Mors” (2012)

09. The Howling Void – “Shadows Over The Cosmos” (2010)

10. Oromet - "Oromet" (2023)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/132

Oromet - "Oromet" (2023)

This debut album from a new Sacramento-based duo is a great example of the funeral doom metal genre in my opinion & I'm surprised that it hasn't been mentioned as yet. With its three tracks spanning a suitable 43-minute duration, it doesn't outstay its welcome like so many funeral doom records do. It's also quite melodic with a noticeably epic feel that provides just a little differentiation from the pack. The second track "Diluvium" is spectacular & is one of the better examples of the genre you're gonna find. There's just not quite the musical proficiency to reach my elite scores but this is a damn fine release nonetheless & has even bumped its way into the lower positions in my top ten for the genre overall.

4/5

Dying Fetus - "Make Them Beg For Death" (2023)

The new Dying Fetus album is... well... you know... yet another Dying Fetus record with all of the same characteristics as every other one of their releases. Groovy hardcore riffs, slower slam sections, guitar-practice-sounding sweep-picking flourishes... they're all here. The production is super-clean & clinical but it doesn't change the fact that Dying Fetus will always be a band that I unanimously enjoy to some extent but never genuinely love. They just sound a little bit sterile & lacking in quality control when it comes to the use of some pretty lackluster riffs at times which is frustrating when they can be so crushing at others. In saying that, I'd suggest that this might be my second favourite of Dying Fetus' record from 2012's "Reign Supreme" but there's very little between most of them in all honesty. As usual, people will try to attach the tech death tag to "Make Them Beg For Death" but (also as usual) it's not an accurate description of their sound, despite the consciously techy moments which generally sound forced. 

3.5/5

Kostnatění - "Úpal" (2023)

Last year's sophomore album from one-man Minneapolis avant-garde black metal project Kostnatění is a really solid release & should probably come into these discussions somewhere. It's currently sitting solely in The North but it's very clear to me that it should have a dual clan allocation with The infinite as it's made an obvious attempt to sound as strange as possible with a Deathspell Omega influence being pretty obvious in the guitar work. It doesn't all work but the majority of the record is highly engaging, despite being more interesting & intriguing than it is traditionally enjoyable. I'm placing it just behind Odz Manouk's "Bosoragazan (Բոսորագազան)" & Panopticon's "The Rime of Memory".

4/5

This morning's investigation is the title track from Budgie's 1974 "In For The KIll" fourth album which I regard as being hard rock:

Today's track is Black Sabbath's "Spiral Architect" which I regard as being symphonic prog.

That's brings "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" to an end. It was actually a much closer thing than I would have thought going in. Despite it containing more hard rock record than it does metal though, there was still just enough metal to qualify. Unlike Sabbath's first four full-lengths which I now regard as being stoner metal releases, this one is more of a classic heavy metal record too. Tomorrow we'll start looking at Budgie's 1974 fourth album "In For The Kill".

Today's track is Black Sabbath's "Looking For Today" which I'd suggest is simply hard rock:

I'm aware of that Rex. I'm actually conducting this exercise as a part of another initiative I'm looking at doing in the future though & it's important that I check out or revisit all of these proto-metal records if I'm gonna make a good fist of that. And for the record, I don't think "Thunder & Lightning" is a metal record either just quietly.

I checked out Thin Lizzy's 1973 third album "Vagabonds of the Western World" this morning & didn't find any metal to speak of there. I'd suggest that it's a hard rock record with blues rock & funk rock influences so we won't be investigating it in this exercise.

I don't mind the Hellripper album. It's certainly a bit of fun, isn't it? I'm just not sure that I could ever truly "love" a blackened speed metal record like that one though as it mostly sounds like drunken party music which doesn't offer as much substance as I would usually look for in my extreme metal. "Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags" reminds me of a more blackened version of Midnight or the faster Venom tracks. The thrashier material (" The Cursed Carrion Crown" & my personal favourite "Mester Stoor Worm") is the most appealing for me personally & brings to mind Toxic Holocaust's more blackened moments while there are a couple of tracks that are pure Motorhead worship. I've just managed to get this up to a reasonable rating but I'd take the Demoniac album over this one.

3.5/5

A new live video from San Jose metalcore act Sunami whose 2020 self-titled E.P. I had some time for:

Today's track is Black Sabbath's "Who Are You? which I would suggest is symphonic prog:

Florida death metal legends Massacre have a brand new E.P. coming out on 1st February called "Tri-pocalypse".

Here are the feature releases nomination recipients for February:

THE FALLEN: Morpheus, Ben, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Rexorcist, Xephyr, Shezma, Morpheus

THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel

THE INFINITE: Shezma, Andi, Xephyr, Rexorcist, Saxy

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Ben, Daniel, Shezma

THE PIT: Rexorcist, Morpheus, Daniel, Ben

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi

As I said last month, please feel free to submit your nominations immediately guys as I shouldn't need to chase you in the back end of the month.

Rexorcist, will you be participating given that you didn't submit your nomination on time for inclusion in the January features? If you don't respond within a week then we'll revert to the next member in the queue for The Guardians & The Pit which will be Xephyr & Morpheus respectively.

Morpheus, Rexorcist, Shezma & Xephyr, I'm still waiting for your feature release nominations. If I don't receive them before 31st January then you'll miss your turn.

For our newer contributors, please be aware that you need to create a feature release post for your nomination(s) on the 1st February so that our members have a place to share their thoughts.

My old Iron Maiden "World Slavery Tour 1984-85" baseball shirt has finally packed it in which has left me feeling quite emotional.

The only real contenders for The Sphere Release of 2023 are Godflesh's "Purge" & In This Moment's "Godmode" with less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

The frontrunners for The Revolution Release of 2023 Award are August Burns Red's "Death Below", Will Haven's "VII" & Unearth's "The Wretched; The Ruinous" at the moment with less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

The frontrunners for The Pit Release of 2023 Award are Hellripper's "Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags", Demoniac's "Nube negra" & Enforced's "War Remains" with less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

The frontrunner for The North Release of 2023 Award are Panopticon's "The Rime of Memory", Hellripper's "Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags" & Malokarpatan's "Vertumnus Caesar". There's less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

The frontrunner for The Infinite Release of 2023 Award are Ne Obliviscaris' "Exul', King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's "PetroDragonic Apocalypse" & Periphery's "Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre". There's less than a week to go now so get those ratings in.